The problem faced by the drug analysts in the forensics community is the difficulty in identifying certain types of controlled substances. The frequency of new drugs introduced in the party environment is at an alarming rate and this enhances the problem faced by the drug analysts. One such drug hard to identify is benzylpiperazine (BZP), commonly known as Legal X. Currently, there are no presumptive tests available for BZP. Additionally, phenylcyclidine (PCP) and cocaine cannot be distinguished from each other using the conventional presumptive methods. Problems like these can lead to false positives or negatives for a certain drug because of the indistinguishable presumptive results.
There are many reagent kits that exist which are used to presumptively identify the drugs based on the color they yield. Different tests are used to identify certain drugs. For example, Marquis' reagent, a solution of formaldehyde and sulfuric acid, is used to identify MDMA (ecstasy) and some other opiates while a cobalt thiocyanate test is used to detect the presence of cocaine. These reagents are added to an unknown drug and react with it to result in a change of color. The resulting color will correspond to a specific drug. The problem that presents itself is that the results depend on the perception of color by the officers or agents using the kits and their ability to compare the result to those in a given list of drugs and their resultant color. In addition, some of the results give a range of colors (i.e. “strong reddish orange to deep reddish brown” or “olive green to yellow”), which make it even more difficult for a consensus presumption of the identity of the drug. In short, this method has a relatively high rate of false positives and false negatives. In the case of the cobalt thiocyanate test, diphenhydramine (e.g., Benadryl®, available from McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Fort Washington, Pa.) yields results similar to cocaine. Confirmatory testing of these unknown substances can be done by methods such as TLC and GC-MS. However, these methods are time consuming as most of the GC-MS samples are done in situ. Portable GC-MS devices do exist, but the major drawback is that they need properly trained officers or agents to use them and the equipment is expensive.
The idea of an easy-to-use, low cost and portable device to identify unknown drugs is very attractive in the forensics community. Thus, there is a need for a low cost and portable device that can presumptively identify illicit drugs and common substances of abuse. It is to such a low cost and portable device that the present disclosure is directed.